January eleventh

Today's Highlight in History:
On January eleventh, 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart began a trip from Honolulu to Oakland, California, that made her the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean.

On this date:
In 1757, the first secretary of the US Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, was born in the West Indies.

In 1805, the Michigan Territory was created.

In 1815, Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1861, Alabama seceded from the Union.

In 1913, the first sedan-type automobile, a Hudson, went on display at the 13th Automobile Show in New York.

In 1942, Japan declared war against the Netherlands, the same day that Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies.

In 1943, the United States and Britain signed treaties relinquishing extraterritorial rights in China.

In 1964, U-S Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first government report saying smoking may be hazardous to one's health.

In 1973, owners of American League baseball teams voted to adopt the designated-hitter rule on a trial basis.

In 1978, two Soviet cosmonauts aboard the "Soyuz 27" capsule linked up with the "Salyut Six" orbiting space station, where the "Soyuz 26" capsule was already docked.

Ten years ago: Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev visited Lithuania, where he sought to assure supporters of independence that they would have a say in their republic's future.

Five years ago: President Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama held a low-key summit in Washington, playing down differences over trade. Fifty-two people were killed when a Colombian airliner crashed as it was preparing to land near the Caribbean resort of Cartagena; a nine-year-old girl survived.

One year ago: President Clinton and House Republicans clashed in impeachment trial papers, with the White House claiming the perjury and obstruction allegations fell short of high crimes and misdemeanors and GOP lawmakers rebutting: "If this is not enough, what is?"

"There are periods when the principles of experience need to be modified, when hope and trust and instinct claim a share with prudence in the guidance of affairs, when, in truth, to dare is the highest wisdom."

-- William Ellery Channing, American clergyman (1780-1842).